A mother’s love ... along with critique of a coach
Kids get all sorts of encouragement from their parents when playing sports.
Connecticut Sun reserve post Theresa Plaisance was told some different things when she was around 10 years old from her mother, DoBee, a longtime basketball coach.
"When she realized I wanted to start taking basketball more seriously, I didn't get the typical mom comments like, if we lost, 'you tried your best,'" Theresa Plaisance said. "Or, if you had a good game, 'you're the best!' No, it was, 'you know you missed that box out in the third quarter.'
"She understood basketball at a whole other level, so that kind of gave me my basketball IQ at an early age. She challenged me to expand my game from developing guard skills, being able to understand the Xs and Os and watching her teams. I think my childhood was a little bit different as the daughter of a coach,
but it was great; absolutely great."
DoBee Plaisance has been a head coach for 34 years, beginning at St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie, La. The program was in rough shape when she took over. She coached them to a pair of state titles.
DoBee Plaisance coached 13 seasons at Loyola University in New Orleans before moving on in 2008 to Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La., where she currently coaches. The Colonels were seeded fourth in the 2018 Southland Conference tournament and beat the fifth, first and second seeds, respectively, for both their first conference title and NCAA Division I tournament bid.
"She's an all-around really great person," Theresa Plaisance said. "She has so much energy and such a positive outlook on everything. She's not an excuse maker and I think that's why she's so successful at the places she's been at. She hasn't been dealt the easiest hand when it comes to resources and stuff at her universities. Every university she's gone to she's been able to turn it into a winning program, and I think that's all due to her hard work, and her character.
“She's a really great woman. She's cares greatly about her players . ... There's a lot of love there for her kids."
— Ned Griffen